Rendezvous with Kami-sama

Sir Arthur C. Clarke has passed away today at the age of 90. It’s impossible for me to express how formative this great man’s writings have been upon my personality, my interests, even my career. Along with Isaac Asimov, who passed away when I was a freshman in college, Sir Arthur was my gateway into science fiction and a lifetime of intellectual curiosity and simple appreciation for the fruits of the mind.

On my recent trip to Colombo, the idea of meeting him crossed my mind, but was rejected immediately as an impossibility. But at least I came close.

My wife and I sat (almost) next to him at the 1979 WorldCon in Brighton. But we were much too timid to do more than smile and nod. (We were not alone — people were so respectful of him I almost wonder if he didn’t feel a bit lonely).